Storms hit Pope CountyAtkins and Hector were among the hardest-hit areas as severe thunderstorms swept across parts of Arkansas Friday afternoon. In Pope County, more than 2,300 Entergy customers reported power outages. Of the 2,340 reported, 887 customers lived in Hector and 874 lived in Atkins. Russellville Entergy customers reported 347 outages as of late Friday afternoon. Russellville Public Works reported receiving some calls about trees down, and said there w...

Downtown Art Walk begins at new timeThe second quarter Downtown Art Walk will take place from 6-9 p.m. today as the Russellville Downtown merchants showcase the talents of area artists and musicians. This event will feature an “Arkansas Living Treasure,” the second installment of an original downtown project as well as a new attraction. The community is invited to stroll the sidewalks of Russellville Downtown while shopping for art, greeting old friends and making new ones and e...

Commission finalizes plansThe Pope County Election Commission confirmed poll workers for the June 10 runoff election and finalized plans to address other issues after the election during a meeting Wednesday afternoon. Election Coordinator Sherry Polsgrove reminded commissioners they had previously discussed waiting until after the May primary and the June runoff elections to discuss possible changes in polling locations. In April, commissioners approved temporarily cha...

Mayor proclaims Friday 'Jimmy Hood Day'Mayor Bill Eaton issued a proclamation declaring June 6, 2014, as Jimmy Hood Day. Friday would have been Hood's 55th birthday. The proclamation was presented to Patricia Sims — fiancee of the late Hood, who died in a tragic accident on May 23. The proclamation calls upon the people of Russellville to recognize and celebrate the life of this truly remarkable man, who was a positive role model and inspiration to all in the Arkansas River Valley....

Council approves rezoning for HarpsDOVER — The Dover City Council approved rezoning property to the east of Rose Drug on State Highway 7 in Dover to allow for a Harps Food Store and gas station during its regular meeting Tuesday night. "We [Harps] have a piece of the property that's being rezoned under contract with the Jones and Johnson [families], and we're asking that it be rezoned to highway commercial district, which makes sense given its location on Highway 7," Sarah Hopp...

2 killed in log truck crashA Pope County man and a Crawford County man were killed and a Van Buren man was injured in a crash Monday afternoon on U.S. Highway 65 in Van Buren County, according to a police report. Jerry Lyn Hickman, 39, was driving a 1999 Peterbuilt TTL south on Highway 65, approaching a bridge at Arkansas 16 East around 3:18 p.m. when his left rear tire blew out, causing the load of logs in his trailer to shift. The trailer overturned, spilling logs ont...

Candidate Q & AEditor's note: The Courier contacted the candidates in the runoff election for Pope County Circuit Clerk as part of its voter's guide for 2014. The candidates were emailed the same question. Below are the responses for those two candidates. Candidates for Pope County Circuit Clerk Gina Skelton If you could give voters a statement about why you should be elected, what would it be? Considering the volume of work that passes through the Circuit C...

Plains and Eastern Clean Line conducts office hoursRepresentatives from Plains and Eastern Clean Line are on hand from noon to 6 p.m. today at the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 708 W. Main St., to answer questions about the proposed electric transmission line project. The line would stretch about 750 miles through Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee and would transmit energy produced in western Oklahoma, Kansas and northwest Texas. "The Plains and Eastern Clean Line is an elec...

Harps one step closer to DoverDOVER — The Dover Planning Commission approved recommending the rezoning of property to the east of Rose Drug on State Highway 7 to allow for a Harps Food Store and gas station during a called meeting Monday night at Dover City Hall. The commission, which voted 4-0 with Commissioner Carl Wetzel absent, will recommend the Dover City Council approve rezoning of the property owned by the Jones and Johnson families during the council's regularly s...

Womack visits Freedom HouseEach year ARVAC Inc. Executive Director and a representative of the Governing Board of Directors attend the National Community Action Foundation conference in Washington DC. This conference offers several workshops on maximizing the effectiveness of local Community Action Agencies, but also offers the opportunity to interact with Congressmen and Senators who represent each Community Action service area across the nation. There is current legis...

Farmers market open for seasonThe Pope County Farmers Market starts its main season this week. The market will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Pope County Farmers Market operates in Russellville at 2200 W. Main St. in the West Side Church of Christ parking lot. Follow the market on Facebook at Pope County Farmers Market/Russellville’s Farm to Table Market for up to date information.

Oakes talks Complete StreetsFor the people who are against Complete Streets, City Engineer Michael Oakes has one thing to say — he understands. Wait, what? That's right. Oakes said up until about eight or nine years ago, he felt the same way. Oakes said the "light bulb went on" after he attended the Congress for the New Urbanism Transportation Conference in Kansas City, Mo., several years ago. During the conference, presenters described the concept of what is now known a...

2 found dead after Caglesville shootingCAGLESVILLE — A man and woman were found dead Friday night in northeastern Pope County, the result of an apparent murder-sucide. Pope County Sheriff Aaron DuVall said Saturday that Donna Lott, 44, and Jimmy Lott, 46, were found dead at their Caglesville home before 8:30 p.m. Friday night. Their bodies were turned over to Pope County Coroner Leonard Krout and were sent to the State Medical Examiner for autopsies. “All the evidence we have point...

News Briefs (Mar. 31, 2014)Archeological Society meeting The Arkansas River Valley Chapter of the Arkansas Archeological Society will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Arkansas Tech University Museum, located in the Techionery on the ATU campus. The program is “Salvaging a woodland site in western Arkansas: Excavations at the Wild Violet Site,” presented by Larry Porter. Porter will discuss findings from his excavations at Wild Violet, a Woodland period site in Logan County...

Circuit Clerk 101Most people are aware of the Pope County Circuit Clerk's office, located inside the courthouse, but many may be unaware of what the circuit clerk's office does. The primary duties of the circuit clerk's office — as stated on its page of the county's website, www.popecountyar.com — "revolve around filing, docketing, attending court, issuing of notices, summonses, subpoenas and reporting to the Administrative Office of the Courts." The office re...

Overpass completed ahead of scheduleConstruction of the North Phoenix Union Pacific Railroad overpass is complete, and the city will host an opening ceremony at 2 p.m. Monday. "The public is invited to come watch this historic event," City Engineer Michael Oakes said. The project, which was scheduled to be complete in August, was originally studied to be an underpass, but after extensive research city officials opted for an overpass. The decision to construct an overpass instead...

Keeping up with the JonesesOn May 20, Shane Jones was elected Pope County Sheriff and Larry Jones was elected Johnson County Sheriff. Shane Jones handily defeated C. E. "Charlie" Falwell in the Republican primary. Shane Jones received nearly 75 percent of the votes with 4,538 over Falwell's 1,551 votes. The votes are scheduled to be certified Friday, and all results are unofficial until then. Shane Jones has worked with the Pope County Sheriff's Office more than 19 year...

New voter ID law has little effect on Pope CountyTwelve provisional ballots were cast in Pope County's May primary, and only five of those were due to voters not bringing their IDs with them to vote. More than 7,300 votes were cast in the primary, according to unofficial numbers. The Pope County Election Commission is scheduled to certify the election at 1 p.m. Friday at the Pope County Courthouse in Russellville. Until that time, all numbers remain unofficial. "We had only 12, which is pret...

Charity runs help families in needRussellville’s recent series of charity runs succeeded in raising more than $52,000 for families in need. On April 25-26, the 2014 Pope and Yell County Relay For Life hosted 144 participants and 21 teams on the Pope County Fairgrounds. The event raised more than $36,000 at the event and will continue to receive donations through August. All donations will be sent to the American Cancer Society. Leigh Ann Veech, co-chair for Russellville’s Rela...

Atkins considers stipendsATKINS — The Atkins Board of Education is expected to vote over the summer on possible stipends for teachers who obtain national board certification. Chance Duncan, Atkins High School (AHS) science teacher, presented the proposal to the board during its regular May meeting. The board — after confirming that no teachers would be certified before August — tabled discussion pending further research. Duncan said three teachers in the district are ...